research him if you can, you may be surprised how he affected lyricism and may better understand us older hip-hop head on our complaint on modern day lyricism

Yeah I know of Rakim and all the respected all time greats like KRS-One etc, but just never really got into it. I have tried a lot of the "classics" but it just doesn't bang as much as i like it to. I need bangers that i can bump when i play Bball. LoL

Ruff Ryder/late 90's is the go to Era for bangers, IDK maybe the reason this era is often not included in the golden era is cuz of the subject matter, grimy raps are getting big and suburban white kids are buying into it

I know there has to be more of these type record labels but my bias is D-Block for modern hardcore raps

Ruff Ryder/late 90's is the go to Era for bangers, IDK maybe the reason this era is often not included in the golden era is cuz of the subject matter, grimy raps are getting big and suburban white kids are buying into it

LoL, i guess you can say Lupe have "decent" lyrics. That track i just linked is my all time favorite, the story telling, lyricism, etc is nuts on that "Put You On Game" track. If you can truly grasp what he is saying in that track, MINDBLOWN!!!

That's the thing though, bumping that 90s gangsta gangsta rap is a no go for me. I can't relate much to it, even though it might have amazing flow/ etc. hip hop has advanced so much since those times, and rapping now is like having a conversation in free form, while back in the 90s hip hop is very stylized/ conformed to certain types of flows. The vids that SurfWax linked are great examples of this. You can hear it right off that bat, that flow/ style used are so old school. Not saying that it is bad but it just sounds so dated, you know what i am saying.

I still need to listen to the MVs you linked but think i have seen the mobb deep one, not a fan of ruff rider or DMX but will give it a spin.

That Made Men track is nice, beat is sweet. Best out of the MVs you linked is the Mobb Deep hands down, for me anyways. Still not feeling DMX/ Ja Rule. LoL, dat Mase, Black Rob etc is weakkkk, MCs kinda subpar. Same goes for that D-Block track, man why didn't they let that guy in the white that did the hook rap, he sounds so much better then the rest but the beat bangs though!!!

banger to me has always been just about decent lyrics or better, no need to be super deep and really sick beat, flow is a must of course

anything lupe does is not new to me, I just dont like his dick-riding fans, its like for once they actually got to listen to someone really good, then they over analyze him, then think he is the best there is, deep lyrics is not new at all, like I said before Rakim is the father of all rappers, he's been on the deep end of rap lyrics since before lupe

BTW, the ones I posted are not gangsta rap, gangsta rap is more west coast than anything, I don't like gangsta rap so yeah

banger to me has always been just about decent lyrics or better, no need to be super deep and really sick beat, flow is a must of course

anything lupe does is not new to me, I just dont like his dick-riding fans, its like for once they actually got to listen to someone really good, then they over analyze him, then think he is the best there is, deep lyrics is not new at all, like I said before Rakim is the father of all rappers, he's been on the deep end of rap lyrics since before lupe

BTW, the ones I posted are not gangsta rap, gangsta rap is more west coast than anything, I don't like gangsta rap so yeah

It is still really gangsta-ish. LoL

Of course, nothing is really new under the sun, but he has created his own brand of hip hop that is pretty unique/ refined compared to what is out there these days that's for sure. Took me some time to really get into Lupe, didn't really like his voice, style at 1st but eventually his stuff grew on me. But that is the thing though, the more i look into his lyrics on rap genius etc, the more I appreciate the moment of thought he puts into it. Not saying others don't but there are just layers and layers and layers, and I still have trouble understanding some of it.

I wouldn't say he is the father/ godfather etc, cuz just like hip hop/ rap music there are so many influences from ALL cultures in which the art form draws/ "samples" from. When you say Rakim is the father of ALL rappers is like saying hip hop/ rap music was created ONLY by black people, which is not true at all. I am sure there are many that have come before Rakim that he was influenced by, so.....

I love old school gangsta rap, for reasons others said they dont like it, I'm born and bred in LA, so west coast, I grew up in the 90s, and I grew up in the hood and spent the majority of my pre-18 life with cholos and Gs. The only requirement I need for G-rap is that they have done actual dirt in their lives, I can't stand rappers who talk about how hard and thug them and their crews are when they used to be back-up dancers and are studio made